Threaded trocar for adapter assemblies

ABSTRACT

A trocar assembly for releasable engagement with an adapter assembly of a surgical stapling instrument includes a housing having a first end cap and a second end cap, a trocar member rotatably supported with the housing and movable between a retracted position and an advanced position, and a drive member rotatably supported within the housing. The trocar member includes a threaded body and defines a longitudinal channel. The drive member includes a drive portion received within the longitudinal channel of the trocar member. Rotation of the drive member causes longitudinal movement of the trocar member.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/661,266 filed Apr. 23, 2018, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to circular stapling instruments. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to threaded trocars for use in adapter assemblies for circular stapling instruments.

Background of Related Art

Surgical instruments for applying staples, clips, or other fasteners to tissue are well known. Typically, endoscopic stapling instruments include an actuation unit, i.e., a handle assembly for actuating the instrument, an elongate shaft for accessing a body cavity, and a tool assembly disposed at a distal end of the elongate shaft.

Adapter assemblies used with a circular stapling tool assembly include a trocar assembly for selectively positioning an anvil assembly relative to a cartridge assembly. To facilitate sterilization and reuse of the adapter assemblies, many adapter assemblies include a removable trocar assembly.

SUMMARY

A trocar assembly for releasable engagement with an adapter assembly of a surgical stapling instrument is provided. The trocar assembly includes a housing having a first end cap and a second end cap, a trocar member rotatably supported with the housing and movable between a retracted position and an advanced position, and a drive member rotatably supported within the housing. The trocar member includes a threaded body and defines a longitudinal channel. The drive member includes a drive portion received within the longitudinal channel of the trocar member. Rotation of the drive member causes longitudinal movement of the trocar member.

In embodiments, the second end cap includes a threaded bore. The threaded body of the trocar member may be received through the threaded bore of the second end cap to cause the longitudinal movement of the trocar member during rotation of the drive member. The first end cap may include a bore and the drive member may include an engagement portion received through the bore. The drive member and the trocar member may be longitudinally fixed relative to each other. Rotation of the drive member in a first direction may cause rotation advancement of the trocar member. Rotation of the drive member in a second direction may cause retraction of the trocar member.

In some embodiments, the second end cap is configured to retain the trocar member within the housing. The housing may define at least one slot for facilitating attachment of the trocar assembly within an adapter assembly. A distal end of the trocar member may be configured for operable engagement by an anvil assembly. The distal end of the trocar member may include a tapered end.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and, together with a general description of the disclosure given above, and the detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a surgical stapling instrument including trocar assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an adapter assembly of the surgical stapling instrument shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a proximal portion of the adapter assembly shown in FIG. 1 and a trocar assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the trocar assembly shown in FIG. 3, with components separated;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side view of the trocar assembly shown in FIG. 3, with a trocar member in a retracted position;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional end view taken along line 6-6 shown in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional side view of the trocar assembly shown in FIG. 3, with a trocar member in an advanced position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the presently disclosed removable trocar assembly will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings in which like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding elements in each of the several views. As is common in the art, the term “proximal” refers to that part or component closer to the user or operator, i.e. surgeon or clinician, while the term “distal” refers to that part or component farther away from the user.

Referring initially to FIG. 1, an adapter assembly suitable for use with a removable trocar assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, shown generally as adapter assembly 20, is a component of a surgical stapling instrument 10. The surgical stapling instrument 10 further includes a powered handle assembly 30, a loading unit 40, and an anvil assembly 50. Although shown and described with reference to surgical stapling instrument 10, the aspects of the present disclosure may be modified for use with surgical stapling instruments having alternative configurations. For a detailed description of exemplary powered surgical stapling instruments, please refer to commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 9,023,014 (“the '014 patent) and U.S. Pat. No. 9,055,943 (“the '943 patent”), the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

The adapter assembly 20 of the surgical stapling instrument 10 will only be described to the extent necessary to fully disclose the aspects of the present disclosure. For a detailed description of exemplary adapter assemblies, please refer to commonly owned U.S. Pat. App. Pub. Nos. 2016/0106406 (“the '406 publication) and 2017/0086879 (“the '879 publication”), the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

With reference to FIG. 2, the adapter assembly 20 includes a proximal portion 22 configured for operable connection to the handle assembly 30 (FIG. 1) and a distal portion 24 configured for operable connection to the loading unit 40 (FIG. 1). Although shown and described as forming an integral unit, it is envisioned that the proximal and distal portions 22, 24 may be formed as separate units that are releasably securable to one another.

Turning to FIG. 3, the removable trocar assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, shown generally as trocar assembly 100, extends distally from the distal portion 24 of the adapter assembly 20 of the surgical stapling instrument 10. The trocar assembly 100 is releasably secured within the distal portion 24 of the adapter assembly 20. For a detailed description of an exemplary locking mechanism for securing the trocar assembly 100 within the distal portion 24 of the adapter assembly 20, please refer to the '879 publication, the content of which was previously incorporated by reference herein.

With particular reference now to FIG. 4-6, the trocar assembly 100 of the adapter assembly 100 (FIG. 2) of the surgical stapling instrument 10 includes a housing 110, a trocar member 120 rotatably disposed within the housing 110, and a drive member 130 received within the trocar member 120 for rotating the trocar member 120 relative to the housing 110. As will be described in further detail below, the trocar member 120 and the drive member 130 are operably retained within the housing 110 by proximal and distal end caps 102, 104. By limiting the number of components of the trocar assembly 100, the cost of manufacturing the trocar assembly 100 is reduced.

The housing 110 of the trocar assembly 100 includes a substantially tubular body 112 having proximal and distal portions 114, 116. In embodiments, the tubular body 112 defines a pair of slots 111 a, 111 b to facilitate releasable attachment of the trocar assembly 100 within the distal portion 24 of the adapter assembly 20 of the surgical stapling instrument 10. Alternatively, the tubular body 112 of the housing 110 may include tabs, slots and tabs, threading, or other suitable configuration for releasable attachment of the trocar assembly 100 to the adapter assembly 20. An inner surface 118 of the housing 110 may include a friction reducing coating or be otherwise configured to facilitate rotational and/or longitudinal movement of the trocar member 120 within the housing 110.

The first and second end caps 102, 104 of the trocar assembly 100 are secured to the proximal and distal portions 114, 116, respectively, of the tubular body 112 of the housing 110. The first and second end caps 102, 104 may be secured to the tubular body 112 using adhesive, welding, friction fit, mechanical interface, e.g., threads or bayonet coupling, or in any other suitable manner.

The first end cap 102 of the trocar assembly 100 defines an opening 103 configured to receive a proximal portion 134 of the drive member 130 therethrough. The first end cap 102 further defines a recess 103 a (FIG. 5) for receiving a snap ring 106. The snap ring 106 longitudinally fixes the drive member 130 relative to the housing 110 while permitting rotation of the drive member 130 relative to the housing 110. The end cap 102 may be configured to support a bearing assembly (not shown) for reducing friction between the drive member 130 and the housing 110 and for facilitating rotation of the drive member 130.

The second end cap 104 of the trocar assembly 100 defines a threaded bore 105 configured for threaded engagement with the trocar member 120 of the trocar assembly 100. In embodiments, the second end cap 104 is formed of plastic such as PEEK or other friction reducing material, and/or includes a friction reducing insert or coating to facilitate threaded engagement with the trocar member 120. In other embodiments, second cap 104 is formed in stainless steel and can utilize any desired thread form. In one example, the thread form can utilize acme threads. In another example, the thread form can utilize V-Style threads. In still other examples, the thread form can be a combination of Acme and V-Style. Those having skill in the art can appreciate that second cap 104 can find use with a plurality of materials, utilize a variety of coatings, and have any style thread form.

With continued reference to FIGS. 4-6, the trocar member 120 of the trocar assembly 100 includes an elongate body 122 having a cylindrical proximal portion 124, a threaded central portion 126, and a tapered distal portion 128. The trocar member 120 of the trocar assembly 100 is configured for rotational and longitudinal movement relative to the housing 110 of the trocar assembly 100.

As will be described in further detail below, rotation of the drive member 130 of the trocar assembly 100 in a first rotational direction, i.e., clockwise, as indicated by arrow “A” in FIG. 6, causes rotation of the trocar member 120 in the first rotational direction. Rotation of the trocar member 120 in the first direction causes longitudinal movement of the trocar member 120 in a first longitudinal direction, i.e., advancement, as indicated by arrow “B” in FIG. 5. Conversely, rotation of the drive member 130 of the trocar assembly 100 in a second rotational direction, i.e., counter-clockwise, as indicated by arrow “C” in FIG. 6, causes rotation of the trocar member 120 in the second rotational direction. Rotation of the trocar member 120 in the second rotational direction causes longitudinal movement of the trocar member 120 in a second longitudinal direction, i.e., retraction, as indicated by arrow “D” in FIG. 7.

The cylindrical proximal portion 124 of the trocar member 120 maintains the trocar member 120 in axial alignment with the housing 110 of the trocar assembly 100. The cylindrical proximal portion 124 may include a friction reducing coating or be otherwise configured to facilitate rotational and longitudinal movement of the trocar member 120 relative to the housing 110 of the trocar assembly 100. The cylindrical proximal portion 124 of the trocar member 120 also acts as a stop member for retaining the trocar member 120 within the housing 110 of the trocar assembly 100. More particularly, a distal portion 124 a of the cylindrical proximal portion 124 of the trocar member 120 engages the second end cap 104 to prevent the trocar member 130 exiting the housing 110 of the trocar assembly 100 during advancement of the trocar member 120.

The threaded central portion 126 of the trocar member 120 of the trocar assembly 100 includes threads 126 a that engage the threaded bore 105 of the second end cap 104. The threads 126 a are configured such that rotation of the trocar member 120 in the first rotational direction, as indicated by arrow “A” in FIG. 6, moves the trocar member 120 in the first longitudinal direction, as indicated by arrow “B” in FIG. 5, and rotation of the trocar member 120 in the second rotational direction, as indicated by arrow “C” in FIG. 6, moves the trocar member 120 in the second longitudinal direction, as indicated by arrow “D” in FIG. 7.

The tapered distal portion 128 of the trocar member 120 is configured for releasable connection by the anvil assembly 50 of the surgical stapling instrument 10. The tapered distal portion 128 of the trocar member 120 may be configured to pierce or otherwise be received through tissue. The tapered distal portion 128 of the trocar member 120 defines a notch 129 configured to facilitate attachment with the anvil assembly 50.

The elongate body 122 of the trocar member 120 defines a longitudinal channel 121 dimensioned to receive the drive member 130 of the trocar assembly 100. In embodiments, and as shown in FIG. 6, the longitudinal channel 121 includes a square cross-section. It is envisioned that the longitudinal channel 121 may include a cross-section of any shape suitable for fixed rotational engagement with the drive member 130 of the trocar assembly 100. The trocar member 120 include a friction reducing member along the longitudinal channel 121 configured to facilitate longitudinal movement of the trocar member 120 relative to the drive member 130.

Still referring to FIGS. 4-6, the drive member 130 of the trocar assembly 100 includes an elongate body 132 having a proximal engagement portion 134, a bearing portion 136, and a distal drive portion 138. The proximal engagement portion 134 of the drive member 130 is configured for operable engagement with a drive element (not shown) of the handle assembly 30. The bearing portion 136 of the drive member 130 defines a groove 137 configured to receive the snap ring 106 of the trocar assembly 100. The snap ring 106 maintains the drive member 130 longitudinally disposed within the housing 110 of the trocar assembly 100 while permitting rotation of the drive member 130 relative to the housing 110. The drive portion 138 of the drive member 130 is configured to be received within the longitudinal channel 121 of the elongate body 122 of the trocar member 120 of the trocar assembly 100. As noted above, in embodiments, and as shown, the drive portion 138 of the drive member 130 includes a square cross-section corresponding to the square cross-section of the longitudinal channel 121, although other shapes are envisioned. The drive portion 138 may be formed of or include a friction reducing material to permit longitudinal movement of the trocar member 120 relative to the drive member 130.

Operation of the surgical stapling instrument 10, including trocar assembly 100, is substantially similar to the operation of the surgical stapling instrument and trocar assembly shown in and described in the '879 publication.

Although the illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to those precise embodiments, and that various other changes and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A trocar assembly for releasable engagement with an adapter assembly of a surgical stapling instrument, the trocar assembly comprising: a housing including a first end cap and a second end cap; a trocar member rotatably supported with the housing and movable between a retracted position and an advanced position, the trocar member including a threaded body and defining a longitudinal channel; and a drive member rotatably supported within the housing and including a drive portion received within the longitudinal channel of the trocar member, wherein rotation of the drive member causes longitudinal movement of the trocar member.
 2. The trocar assembly of claim 1, wherein the second end cap includes a threaded bore, the threaded body of the trocar member being received through the threaded bore to cause the longitudinal movement of the trocar member during rotation of the drive member.
 3. The trocar assembly of claim 1, wherein the first end cap includes a bore and the drive member include an engagement portion received through the bore.
 4. The trocar assembly of claim 1, wherein the drive member and the trocar member are longitudinally fixed relative to each other.
 5. The trocar assembly of claim 4, wherein rotation of the drive member in a first direction cause rotation advancement of the trocar member.
 6. The trocar assembly of claim 5, wherein rotation of the drive member in a second direction causes retraction of the trocar member.
 7. The trocar assembly of claim 1, wherein the second end cap is configured to retain the trocar member within the housing.
 8. The trocar assembly of claim 1, wherein the housing defines at least one slot for facilitating attachment of the trocar assembly within an adapter assembly.
 9. The trocar assembly of claim 1, wherein a distal end of the trocar member is configured for operable engagement by an anvil assembly.
 10. The trocar assembly of claim 9, wherein the distal end of the trocar member includes a tapered end. 